


Setting The Story Straight

by buttonless



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-20
Updated: 2014-05-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 22:31:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1664918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttonless/pseuds/buttonless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If the Scribe of Heaven knows one thing, it's stories.  So he knows what a villain looks like- Especially in the mirror. Which is exactly what he's intended.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Setting The Story Straight

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes Metatron does things that make him SO obviously a 'bad guy' that it frustrates me- How can the master of stories honestly think he's the hero in this tale? Which got me thinking that Metatron's motives might be a bit more complex than they appear.

_Unbelievable_ _._ He had no idea how his Father had managed this.  Probably why the old bastard had left in the first place.

 

At least Gadreel had finally left. Honestly, he’d been expecting the guy to bail a lot sooner. Maybe when he’d been asked to kill the prophet.  At least when he’d been betrayed during his meeting with Castiel.  But, no.  Gadreel had to be stupidly committed to this whole ‘new vision of Heaven’ shtick. _My own fault_ , he muses. _Should have known- After everything that happened with Eden, the poor kid has to have one hell of a complex._ But at long last, Gadreel had gotten the hint that maybe his boss wasn’t one of the ‘good guys’.  The whole ‘brainwashing Angels into killing themselves and manipulating the competition’ rather drove the point home.  Which was good, because he’d been running out of ideas- What was he supposed to do? Get a white Persian cat to stroke while perfecting his maniacal laughter?

 

He sighs exhaustedly, running his stubby fingers through the short curls of his vessel.  Hopefully the kid would go to the Winchesters- That’d be ideal. One hell of a redemption arc. _I’m such a sucker for redemption arcs,_ he chastises himself. But it would suit the story splendidly. Gadreel, the Betrayer, allied with Castiel, the Broken? Leading angels, humans and (hopefully) even a few demons on a mission to overthrow him and take back Heaven?  It’d be perfect. Exactly the kind of story that could restore the balance to the Universe.

 

Not that he hadn’t liked what had happened with the whole Apocalypse thing, of course.  Team Free Will, fighting for humanity? Simply genius.  The ‘family first’ stuff was great, and, in his own humble opinion, made for a much better tale than the original possible endings. But, unfortunately, the original possible endings had been just that- Endings. No more plot, no more development, no more nothing. 

 

So the Universe was understandably having a hard time adjusting.   The Universe didn’t need a script for everything, of course.  It could get from A to Z without spelling the rest of the alphabet out. But these days- They weren’t even in the alphabet anymore.  They were using numerals, like this was an algebra class.  The Universe, well intentioned as it was, had rather jumped the shark in the past few years, gone so far off the rails that it wasn’t even recognizable as a train.  It just needed a nudge back towards stability- The Purgatory business had been very ugly indeed, and he’d suspected that would be only the beginning if someone didn’t do something.

 

So he’d done exactly that- Something. It had seemed like a reasonable enough plan at the time.  Betray Castiel, banish the Host from Heaven. They’d rally against him, and they’d learn more about humanity while they were at it.  They’d figure out why he’d used Castiel’s Grace- Angels would discover the power of love, they’d become a united force and take back their home. They’d have a new perspective on the creatures they were meant to protect, and Heaven finally returning to the hands of its real rulers- the people it served- would be a cosmic justice.  Sure, he’d get killed or worse, but the story was solid enough. An inspiring tale of love and teamwork and family.  It ought to get the Universe steering in the right direction of, you know, not total chaos.

 

_The best laid plans of mice and men, though,_ he thinks idly as he pulls the pages from his typewriter. With Gadreel finally having abandoned him, he doesn’t need the props anymore. 

 

He’d known the story wouldn’t go exactly as planned, of course. He’d counted on it- If you can’t cope with the characters improvising, you aren’t cut out for story-telling, after all. Gadreel possessing Sam had been a twist, but he figured it would only add depth in the long run. The war in Hell, though- Nasty stuff, mucking everything up something awful.  Not to mention the Mark of Cain thing.  Completely unexpected, and wreaking havoc on development he’d been hoping for with Dean and Castiel. And the Angels were slower to unify than the damn Pantheons.  And making Castiel the lynchpin had been a mistake, he could see that now. The Angel might have been a pillar of conviction and righteousness once, but he’d gone through a lot of character development, recently, and he’d been a fool to ignore it. Instilling all those stories would hopefully help, though.  Castiel was fighting for free will and love and all that jazz, after all. He had to understand he was the hero of the story, destined to prevail.  The younger Angel had the guidebook to stories, now- The clichés, the tropes, the patterns of plots.  He’d make the connections soon enough and figure out what he needed to do. _He has to,_ he thinks bitterly to himself.  _Because short of giving him a pair of shiny red shoes and rolling myself in green body paint, I don’t know how to make this more obvious._

 

He reaches into the bottom shelf of his desk, drawing out the scroll he kept hidden.  A feather appears in his hand- Plucked from his own wings, it already contains the ink needed to scratch the most recent names onto the list of the deceased. Angels and humans and even a few monsters.  _I’m sorry,_ he thinks.  _But your sacrifice will not be in vain._

 

It couldn’t be in vain.  These lives were wasted, yes. Because of him. But it had to work. These pointless deaths would at least make the story more meaningful.  A stronger narrative to span the years.  And if several hundred thousand years from now- If the story of the Angels’ Fall to Earth and Reclamation of Heaven was told to children, was put in print next to the Winchester Gospels and the tale of Anthony and Cleopatra and The Velveteen Rabbit, then it would be enough.  An event in the present, inspiring stories for the future. The surest way to make the Universe continue- Give it somewhere to go.

 

He looks at the list forlornly. _This is for the best,_ he reminds himself.  _This is necessary._ But all the same, he swears to himself, he’s done filling the damn thing out.  There’s only going to be one more death, after all, and his name is never going to be uttered in the same breath as the honored dead. 

 

He’s got a week, maybe.  Stall the Angels ‘following’ him until Castiel and Gadreel figure out the information they need has been right in front of them the whole damn time.  Pretend to be shocked when his followers leave him, having been convinced that they’ve been led astray. He checks his pocket, the interdimensional one- Yep. Castiel’s Grace is still there.  He’ll refuse to give it up, of course. He’s thinking he might construct some sort of labyrinth, put himself in the middle. That could really sell him as the monster of the tale. Maybe even an alter, so there’s a convenient place for them to kill him.  He’s hoping they’ll have sorted out that Mark of Cain fiasco by then, because he really thinks Gadreel out to be the one to finish him off. 

 

Dean’s a human- He gives the story meaning as one of the key characters, of course, but he also needs to provide context as an audience member. Same goes for Sam and any other humans they involve, though he doesn’t fear anyone but Dean really getting stab-happy at the final showdown. Castiel might do it, if he feels he’s the only one who can.  But he’s got a shot at being a human after all of this is done, at maybe having his happy-ever-after. Best not to start that with blood on his hands. And the kid’s killed enough of his own family already.

 

Gadreel, though.  If Gadreel killed him, it could really be good.  The Angel who failed to protect Eden, avenging Heaven. It reads nicely. And it would give the guy a sense of agency again, and maybe some respect from the rest of the Host. Which would be ideal, since he reckons Gadreel could be one hell of a Seraph if the others would just give him the chance.

 

A knock at the door startles him out of his thoughts, and he twists his face into the sneering smile that’s been serving him so well.

 

“Sir? May I come in?”

 

It’s one of the new recruits, asking him when he’ll be ready to “address the troops.”  He’s flippant with her, is as rude as possible without raising suspicion. He hasn’t prepared a speech, he realizes, as she leaves with a shocked curtsey. But it doesn’t matter much at this point- He’s got his character well-flushed out by now, and his ‘troops’ will be leaving him soon.  He’ll strut his ego in front of them for a bit, maybe drop a few hints about how he manipulated the bombers.  Plant the seeds of doubt while he’s got command of the soil. It will be easy.  The groundwork's all be done, the players are standing on their marks and he's set all the props in easy reach.  Just a little bit longer for this charade.

 

He’s lonely and he’s exhausted and he’s ready for this to have been done with almost since the moment he decided to carry it out.

 

_It’s difficult to be the bad guy,_ he reminds himself as he checks his beady eyes in the mirror and practices his condescending grin a few more times. _But someone’s got to do it._


End file.
